Beautiful Disaster
by Somebody's Dark Angel
Summary: Summer pulled away, “You taste like rain,” “That's coz it's pouring and we're standing in the middle of it”...What happened after the Spiderman kiss, SS. Updated with beta read version
1. Part I

**Beautiful Disaster**

**By Somebody's Angel**

"What are you doing here?" Seth asked in amazement, staring at the form that had, until a few seconds ago, been lost to him forever.

"What do you think Cohen?" She returned, smiling widely.

Seth thought she had never looked more beautiful than she did at that moment; hair handing around her face in wet ropes, eyes bright, rain dripping of her face, lips curved into a smile; the widest, most sincere smile he'd seen on her since he had returned from Portland.

She reached her hands up, past his nose, and then he felt her touch at his neck. She pulled his mask down just enough to reveal his mouth, and he took a deep breath of fresh air – despite being waterproof, the Spiderman mask didn't really offer the best ventilation, and Seth's breathing while wearing it had been somewhat labored. And then all his thoughts came to a screeching halt as she placed a hand either side of his face and kissed him.

It felt right. Summer didn't care that it was _sooo_ clichéd, or that she was breaking the promise she had made to herself about never taking him back, she only cared how it felt. Their lips fit together so perfectly, even upside down, and his were much softer than she remembered. She tilted her head and opened her mouth slightly, inviting him in. He didn't oblige, so she deepened the kiss herself, sliding her tongue along his. She moved her hands to the back of his head and pulled him closer, trying to imprint the feel and the taste of him into her mind – she cursed herself for ever forgetting how good it was.

Finally she pulled away slightly, just enough to breathe, and felt his breath mingling with her own. She leaned in to kiss him again, but his face dropped and suddenly she was looking at his blue jacket, colored navy by the rain. She looked down to find that Seth was enjoying his new view immensely.

"Cohen!" She chided, and he sheepishly looked back at her face.

She grabbed his head again, a millisecond before his body slipped down even further. Summer looked up from Seth's eyes and burst out laughing. Only Cohen. He – who had been wearing his pants big and low long before it was fashionable to show one's boxers in public – had tied the rope around his waist, attaching it to the belt loops. Their kiss had caused him to move, and his pants were now around his knees.

Seth attempted to see what was so funny, but ab strength had never been his strong point, and he was unable to lift himself far enough to see his legs. His flailing did, however, cause his pants to slip down further, until they became caught on his shoes.

By this time Summer was almost doubled over in amusement; the sight of Seth, hands on the floor, pants around his ankles, hanging upside down from the roof was too funny.

"A little help please, Summer?" The tone of Seth's voice was almost as pathetic as the look on his face, and his distress helped Summer sober up enough to untie his shoes and free him from his position. He clung to her legs with one arm as she did so, and succeeded in preventing himself from hitting his head on the tiles.

While Seth was getting adjusted to his new right-side-up position, Summer unknotted the rope from his pants, then gave both them and his Converse back to him. During the time that it took Seth to reoutfit himself, Summer amused herself by looking around the yard. She saw something unfamiliar in the poolhouse, and squinted to make out what it was.

"Cohen?"

"Yeah?" Seth finished tying his laces and jumped to his feet, almost falling back over again because of the slickness of the tiles.

"Why is there a boat in the poolhouse?" She turned to face him, a questioning look in her eyes and a finger pointing to the subject of her question.

"It was gonna be my last shot." Seth saw no reason to lie to her, especially since he knew from experience that a) she would see right through the lie and b) she got mad when he tried to lie to her. Summer still looked confused, so he elaborated. "One big romantic gesture to try and win you back."

"Why would a boat called 'Gimme Sex' win me back?"

"The last owner changed the name. It's the 'Summer Breeze'," was Seth's simple reply, and it rendered Summer completely speechless.

"I…You…" Summer gave up trying to form coherent sentences, choosing to physically express her feelings instead. She walked the three steps to Seth and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately. She threaded her fingers through his curls as his arms went around her, and at that moment she knew she'd made the right decision. Not that it had ever really been a choice _between _Zach and Seth; it was more of a choice to finally forgive Seth for leaving.

Summer pulled away, smiling against his lips. "You taste like rain."

"That's coz it's pouring and we're standing in the middle of it." Seth replied matter-of-factly, holding her close.

"What were you doing up there anyway?"

"Satellite's out. I was trying to fix the one thing I knew I could fix."

Summer's face softened, and she stared into Seth's eyes, seeing the emotions that were always there when he was looking at her – except this time, for the first time in a long time, the same emotions were reflected in her own chocolate orbs. "So did you fix it?" Her words were barely audible, but Seth could hear the double meaning.

"I don't know." His words were as soft as hers, and she knew what he was asking.

"Why don't we go find out?" Summer replied, pulling him toward the door she had left open.

Seth grinned and allowed her to pull him up to his room.

Summer wandered around, inspecting the changes since she had last been there, while he ducked into his ensuite to retrieve some towels. She went to his stereo, interested to see what he had been listening to while thinking he had lost her forever. She knew that the music he listened to often reflected his mood, even when he was trying to hide what he was feeling. Boyz II Men. She turned to him to see him looking at her sheepishly.

"I was…you were…" Seth attempted to explain, but Summer shook her head.

"I was listening to this too. I was thinking about you." She smiled a shy half-smile, and he returned it. "I just thought it was funny, coz I had to lie to Zach when he asked me why I was listening to sad songs."

Seth nodded. He knew that she knew he'd never question her choice of music – as long as he didn't have to listen to it. He handed her a towel, and used the one in his hands to dry her hair. "Do you want a shower, or just a change of clothes?"

"Just dry clothes."

Seth went to his dresser and pulled out a pair of shorts that Summer recognised as her own.

"You kept my stuff all this time? Cohen!" She wasn't really mad, he could tell.

"What can I say? I never lost hope for us." Summer had nothing to say to that, so she merely grinned.

Summer joined him at the dresser, and picked out one of his t-shirts to wear. Seth grinned when he saw which one. "I knew you liked Death Cab!"

Summer rolled her eyes, "I don't _like_ them, but I don't hate them either. All the times you made me listen to that CD, I guess they kinda grew on me." She stripped off her shirt and tank top, stunning Seth to speechlessness at the view of her almost-naked upper half before she covered it again with the blue tee. She looked up and saw Seth gawking at her. "It's nothing you haven't seen before – you've actually seen me in _way_ less than just a bra." She shrugged, not embarrassed in the least.

"True, but a) I haven't seen you in just a bra for, like, eight months, and b) last time I saw you topless I couldn't see all your ribs." He lifted the shirt a little and traced his fingers over her protruding ribs. "Zach let you get all skinny. Why haven't you been eating properly?"

Summer pushed his hands away, now embarrassed, "I have been eating properly! I have no intention of looking like Marissa, don't worry." Seth said nothing; simply raised his eyebrows in an action that let her know he understood what she was trying to say.

Summer undid the button fly of her jeans and attempted to pull them off, but soon discovered that wet denim was probably the least acquiescing fabric known to man. "Cohen, help me get these off." She ordered, and was pleasantly surprised when he abandoned his own changing in favor of hers, leaving her with a nice view of his bare chest.

Between the two of them they managed to peel Summer's newly skin-tight jeans off, with Seth again astonished at both the sight and narrowness of her legs. He refrained from commenting though, and merely left her to pull on her shorts while he finished changing.

Once Summer was dressed – complete with thick socks pilfered from Seth's drawer – she poked him in the shoulder and announced, "First one to the family room gets to choose the movie!"

Before Seth could reply she was out the door, and he was left to chase after her with one sock on his foot and one in his hand.

When he arrived in the family room, Summer was on the couch examining three DVD cases – obviously trying to choose which one to watch. Seth silently pulled on his other sock, then bounded over to the couch and tackled Summer. She squealed and laughed as she fell back against the cushions, Seth laughing with her. He was amazed at how easily they had fallen back into the easy camaraderie that had signified their relationship the first time.

As he stared into her coffee-colored eyes, Seth suddenly realised exactly how much he had missed her. The thought subdued his laughter, and he leant down to brush a feather-light kiss across her forehead. "I'm so sorry." He murmured, not knowing how else to apologise for all the hurt he had caused her. He buried his face into her chestnut hair and continued to mumble, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

At his words Summer instantly calmed as well and, wrapping her arms around him, she silently held him as he carried on apologising. She felt the heat of Seth's body atop hers seep through their clothes and into her skin, warming her in a way nothing else could. She revelled in the realisation that she would no longer need to wear layers and layers of clothes in order to keep warm – she had been continuously cold ever since he had sailed away almost eight months ago.

Pushing him away slightly, so she could look into his eyes, Summer opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a call of "Seth?" from the front hall.

Seth and Summer looked at one another for one more moment, before Seth got off her and helped her to her feet. He made his way to the foyer, Summer at his heels.

"Seth, why is th-" Kirsten stopped abruptly when she saw Summer follow Seth out of the hall. "Oh hi, Summer. Do either of you know why there is a taxi in the driveway?"

Summer's hands flew to cover her mouth, "Oh my god, I forgot!" She flew out the door before Kirsten could tell her that Sandy was sorting it out. Seth and his mother followed her to the porch, the three of them standing under cover while Sandy paid the driver and collected Summer's purse and coat.

He led the way back inside, grabbing Kirsten's hand on the way, while Seth and Summer followed more slowly. Once inside, Kirsten and Sandy turned in unison but continued holding hands, and Summer smiled at the obvious display of affection while Seth wrinkled his nose. "So, Summer, not to be rude, but why are you here? I thought you were going to Italy with Zach?" Sandy asked.

Summer shrugged, "I got as far as the gate." Sandy and Kirsten wore matching confused looks, so she elaborated, "Our plane was delayed because of the weather, and…something helped me realise what I was doing. I had been using Zach to try and get over Cohen-Seth, but I was in denial about my feelings for Seth. I couldn't go."

Seth's parents nodded in understanding, "I'm glad." Kirsten said, "I mean, not that you were in denial, or that you broke up with Zach, but I'm glad that you realised in time and you two are back together…you are back together right? I really hope so, coz I've been missing having another girl around the house; things between me and Lindsay are still kinda weird, so she doesn't come around all that often, and Mari-" Sandy clapped a hand over Kirsten's mouth, making Summer smile. _So Cohen got his rambling from his mom, not his dad…interesting._

"I think we get the picture, mom." Seth commented dryly, amused at his mother but not-at-all pleased with the constant displays of affection between his parents, who were now openly hugging.

"Kay, we're just gonna go…we're just gonna go to our room." Sandy said, pulling Kirsten up the hallway towards their ground floor master bedroom. She hugged him from behind as they walked, Sandy calling back to the teenagers, "don't stay up too late."

"Ew." Seth said in disgust, disturbed by both the implication and the mental images his parents had just given them. "That's just…ew."

Summer rolled her eyes. "OK, you have been spending waaay too much time around me, you're picking up my words. And besides, it's cute." She gestured the way his parents had gone.

"It is not cute! Cute is a little boy holding hands with a girl, not your parents showing off the fact that they're gonna have sex."

Summer shook her head and grabbed his hand, leading him back towards the family room as she spoke, "It is cute that your parents obviously still love each other enough to show off their love. Just be glad that your parents make up after they fight." Her voice grew small towards the end, and Seth realised that, compared to Summer's parents, his parents were great – even if they had scarred him for life with their constant need to make out all over the house.

He stopped just before they reached the couch, pulling her to stand in front of him. Without shoes on she barely came up to his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, thanking Jesus and Moses that he was finally able to do so again without fear of death. She pressed her cheek into his shoulder, draping her own arms around his waist.

"Summer?"

"Hmm?" She moved her head from his body, looking up into his bottomless brown depths.

"I l-"

"Don't."

Seth closed his mouth and blinked at her. She managed a weak smile and returned the look of love in his eyes. They didn't need to speak the words, and for that Summer was thankful. It was just them – they knew what the other was thinking without words being exchanged. She knew that he loved her, and he knew that, while she did love him, she wasn't ready to hear the words out loud. Sure he'd said them once before, but that was in an effort to get her back and, while he meant it as much now as he had then, this time the words would mean everything to her.

She placed a hand on his neck and pulled his lips down to meet hers. It was the third kiss they had shared since getting back together, and it was the most tender of the three. Seth was trying to physically show his love for her, and Summer was doing the same.

Finally breaking the kiss, she pushed him down onto the couch and collapsed on top of him. They arranged themselves so Summer was stretched over the length of the couch, her head in Seth's lap. He threaded his fingers through her hair, playing with it, and they sat in silence for a few moments. Summer reflected on yet another difference between her relationships with Seth and Zach; there were no awkward silences with Seth; they could sit for hours, _ok maybe not hours, coz there's no way Cohen could stay silent for a whole hour, but at least a half hour, _doing nothing but thinking, and there nothing uncomfortable about it. Seth was almost always the one to break the silence, not being able to stand another second without telling her how much he appreciated her or how beautiful she was – comments that always made her blush.

This time it was Summer who broke the silence. "Cohen?"

"Yeah Summer?"

"With Zach…it was nothing like what we had-have." Her words were simple and Seth knew exactly what she meant, but she continued anyway, "It was more like he was just…there, especially in the beginning…it's part of why I was so freaked out when he wanted to celebrate our six-month anniversary – I never thought of him as my 'boyfriend' until I told you he was. We never just 'hung out'; we always had to be doing something specific, and we never bickered like the two of us do…and we both know how much fun that is." She grinned seductively, eyes telling Seth exactly what she meant by 'fun'. She would have continued, but Seth silenced her with a kiss.

"Summer I don't need to hear about how you and I are different from you and Zach. All that matters if that you are with whoever you want to be with. And while I'd really really really like that person to be me, I'll try to stay out of it if you decide you're not ready for us to be together again."

Seth's hands stilled in her hair, and she tilted her head to look up at him, to find that he was looking down at her with pleading eyes. "Cohen," she began, turning and sitting up so they were face-to-face. "I want to be with you." She kissed him gently, once, twice, three times, then lay her head on his shoulder, wrapping one arm around him and leaning into his touch. His hand drifted from her hair to her waist, pushing her t-shirt up slightly and tracing circles on the skin of her hip.

Summer thought back to the airport, before she had broken up with Zach

FLAHSBACK

The kid with the horse and comics looked exactly like the son she and Seth had in her fantasies. The thought scared her, because she had been with Zach for almost twice as long as she had been officially dating Seth, yet she had never had any kind of similar thoughts about her future with Zach. It was like she always knew that she and Zach wouldn't last.

And then all the doubts she had about going to Italy came rushing back. Summer had only ever met Zach's family once, and she hadn't exactly made a great impression, yet there she was, flying to Italy to be a bridesmaid at Abigail's wedding. The thought brought Seth's parents to mind; they had always welcomed her – especially after Seth left on his boat – and had never made judgements about the less-than-brilliantly-witty comments she occasionally made. Sandy and Kirsten had never made her feel stupid, intentionally or otherwise.

"…coming?" Zach's voice broke into Summer's thoughts. She looked up, and he wasn't Seth. It was as simple as that. She knew at that moment that she couldn't lie to herself anymore. She wanted to be with Seth.

"I can't do it." She said, fighting back tears. It seemed strange to her that she was growing teary – she didn't want to be with Zach, so she should have no qualms about breaking up with him. But the reality was that she really didn't want to hurt him either.

The look on Zach's face when he saw the kid told Summer everything she needed to know. He had never expected her to actually get on the plane with him…he knew that Summer would, someway or another, find an excuse not to go. And while she could see it in his eyes that he was hurt she was leaving him specifically _for_ Seth, he wasn't surprised.

"You can't fight fate." He said, and Summer realised Zach had seen it coming for a while now – apparently the only one who hadn't seen it coming was Summer herself.

She kissed him gently, both to reassure him she didn't hate him, and to prove to herself that she was making the right choice. Their lips pressed together awkwardly, and his tasted wrong. She pulled away and wiped her lipgloss of his bottom lip, not wanting him to have even more painful memories of her.

Summer looked into his eyes once more, then let her eyes drift away from his as she moved past him. She ran to the security check, not wanting to waste anymore time without Seth.

END FLASHBACK

And now that she was being honest with herself, she realised that she had forgiven Seth for leaving a long time ago, she just hadn't been willing to let him know that.

"I forgive you." The words were said so quietly that Seth almost missed them.

"Summer?"

"I forgive you," She repeated, teary brown eyes meeting his. "But if you ever leave me like that again…" The threat went unfinished, but they both knew what she meant. He would get no third chance, even if it would break her heart to stay away.

"I'll never leave you." He kissed her softly, and held her tighter, as if to reassure her. And it did, to an extent. She buried her face in his chest and breathed in his fresh, clean scent. She had missed him. Missed this.

"Can I stay here tonight?" Summer asked, words muffled by the fabric of his shirt. She felt him stiffen, and looked up questioningly.

Seth hesitated, wondering how to explain himself, "I…Um…" Her eyes were growing teary, and he quickly blurted out the explanation that hadn't even made sense in his head, "I don't want us to start 'reloaded' the same way we started the original." Her face was still confused, eyes still sad, so he continued, "I don't want our relationship to be based on sex this time. We've both changed – grown up – and we shouldn't go back to exactly the way we were just because we're back together. Not that I don't want you – god no – but last time we were together all of two minutes before we had sex, and look how that turned out."

Summer's eyes cleared, and she smiled, "You're refusing me?" She asked teasingly, knowing that he had a very hard time doing so when she decided to pursue it.

"Believe me it's not easy." He responded, hands tracing a path across her stomach that made her believe what he was saying.

"How slow do you wanna take it?" She pulled his hand out from under her shirt; if he continued she could not be held accountable for her actions. It was amazing that he knew exactly how and where to touch her to get her all riled up. Then again, they had learned what they liked in the arms of one another; it made sense that he knew she was extremely ticklish along her collarbone, and that she knew he melted when she traced a finger along his pelvis. It was another thing that had annoyed her with Zach – he constantly wanted to kiss her neck and shoulder despite her telling him multiple times that she didn't like it. The same thing had irritated Seth with Alex – she had gone straight for the prize, ignoring pretty much everything between his head and…well, his other head.

"Tomorrow's fine."

"Thank god, coz I'm going stir-crazy sitting here trying not to touch you." Technically they were touching, but he knew what she meant.

"Who said you couldn't touch me?" He was playing with fire now; they both knew that if they started they wouldn't be able to stop. It had always been that way with them; kissing was fine, they could make out for hours as long as hands didn't stray too far, but once they did there was no stopping…even parental interruptions, embarrassing though they were, didn't stop them from finishing what they had started.

She merely gave him a look that told him exactly what she was thinking, and pulled his hand off her thigh, where it had migrated after being denied access to her stomach. "I'm not _that_ easy, Cohen, did you really think I'd come her and sleep with you on the first night we got back together?"

He returned her look, "Oh? Well refresh my memory, who was pushing whom onto the bed the first time we got together?"

She couldn't refute that, so merely smacked his again-wandering hand. "What I meant was, when I asked if I could stay, I just want you to hold me tonight. I've been cold for so long, I need to be warm." Her smile turned wicked, "And besides, if I stay, tomorrow is going to come that much sooner…"

Seth grinned back, and leaned forward to kiss her, making sure to keep his hands on top of her clothes this time. Summer kissed him back, falling back onto the cushions and pulling Seth on top of her. She moved her hands to his hair, letting her fingers slip through his curls – shorter than she remembered, but still amazingly cute.

Pulling back to breathe, Seth looked at her and exhaled loudly in amazement. "You're more beautiful than I remembered," He breathed, moving a strand of hair away from her face.

"It's not like you haven't seen me regularly, even when I was with him." Summer replied, careful not to completely shatter the moment by bringing up Zach.

"Not like this," Seth answered, taking in her slightly flushed face, messy hair and lips swollen from his kiss. He felt her chest heaving under his, and knew he had to get off her before he broke his self-induced celibacy. He pecked her once more before moving to sit upright. She followed, settling against him once again and reaching for the remote.

"Do you want to watch TV here or upstairs?" She asked, motioning towards the stairs with the remote in her hand.

"Upstairs, as long as you promise you'll behave yourself."

"I make no promises." Summer smiled mischievously, pulling Seth to his feet. He shot her a look and she relented, "Fine. I promise not to ravage you while you sleep." He rolled his eyes at her bluntness, but moved with her towards the stairs, plucking the remote from her fingers and tossing it back onto the couch. "But once you wake up all bets are off!" Summer's laugher echoed through the house, along with Seth's footsteps as he chased her up the stairs.

THE END

So what did you think? I know this has been done, but there were a couple of things I wanted to show my opinion of. Sorry for the delay, but here in Australia 2.14 has only just been shown (last night actually), and even though I did read the episode guide on the official site I hadn't seen the whole ep so…

And yes, the third chapter of _Seceding Link_ is in the works, along with a couple other one-shots…S/S being officially together in Australia has fixed my writer's block!

Oh, and the title was _Beautiful Disaster_ by Kelly Clarkson, since that inspired meto write the beginning of this fic- awesome song, listen to it!


	2. Part II

**Beautiful Disaster, part II**

**By Somebody's Angel**

'K, just realised that I didn't change the rating or warn people about what's in this chap. Becuase I don't want this to have an 'M' rating and, frankly, I don't believe it really deserves one, this chap contains some 'M'-rated material, so if you're underage or easily offended, don't read and complain about it!

Now updated with the beta-read version!

* * *

Summer woke in the half-light of dawn curled up in the center of Seth's bed. She grinned and stretched carefully, trying not to disturb the guy lying against her chest. He shifted in his sleep, one hand going to cup her hip.

She didn't feel like waking him. She was quite happy to lie here and listen to him breathing all day. He lay across her, pinning her to the bed, his head against the place where neck met shoulder. He was a sprawly sort of sleeper, she mused – nothing like Zach, who had slept in a small, economical huddle. Seth flung out his arms and legs and took whatever space was available, and some that wasn't, which was why she was glad she took up so little.

Still, he was heavy.

Seth stirred, rubbing his face against her shoulder. She kissed the top of his head with a smile.

"Morning, Cohen," she said affectionately. He grunted and mumbled something to the effect of 'five more minutes'. "Come on, get offa me." She waited, but when he made no move to get off her, she shoved him so he rolled off her onto his side.

He lay there quietly for a moment, then tensed in shock and opened his eyes. "Summer?" he asked softly, apparently confused.

"And you were expecting?" she asked.

Seth's face went blank as he tried to remember the events of the previous night. Slowly the realisation dawned, like the sun rising, and his face softened. "Summer," he said again, with a giant smile. She kissed him once, then again, and lay back to enjoy being able to breathe without his weight on her chest – not that it was all that much, but dead weight was a lot heavier than live. He curled himself around her, one leg thrown over hers, his arm across her waist, fiddling with the drawstring of her shorts.

They lay there happily for a time, with neither of them feeling any need to fill the silence. It was a comfortable silence.

Finally Seth took a deep breath, "I missed you."

"Missed you too," Summer answered lazily.

She could feel his hot breath on her ear, then he was lightly biting her earlobe and taking it into his mouth, sucking gently.

"Cohen, don't you dare-" She sighed happily. "Stop…"

Seth grinned. "Was that a 'Cohen, if you don't stop, I'm going to castrate you'? Or was that an 'Oh God, Cohen, please don't ever stop'?"

She reached up and thwacked him on the back of his head.

He took one hand off her waist and rubbed the back of his neck. "Holy shit Summer! That hurt like _hell_!"

She looked at the bedspread with mock sheepishness. "Whoops…"

He frowned, even as he began rubbing her shoulders again. "Funny, I didn't really sense any remorse in your reply."

"Yeah, well, I thought about making an attempt at sounding convincingly apologetic, and – according to Coop – it really _is_ the thought that counts."

Seth merely rolled his eyes and rested his head on the pillow beside Summer, the hand not rubbing his neck still playing with her shorts.

Summer took a deep breath, unsure if this was the right time to bring up the subject, _and when would be a better time?_ A little voice asked, _while he's hovering above you about to join your bodies in the way that only he can? Or tomorrow, over the phone?_ "Why did you leave, Seth?" Her voice was soft, shy, and Seth could detect a quiver in the tone.

He sighed heavily. "I was scared." It sounded so simple, but they both knew that the complexities of his leaving extended far beyond what he was able to convey with words.

"Of what?" Her voice was still small, and he could tell she was nervous about his answer. Extrapolating herself from under Seth, she copied his earlier actions as she draped herself over him; arm around waist, leg over leg, head on shoulder. While she would have vehemently denied it to anyone who asked, Summer knew she was subconsciously keeping him in place by being on top of him.

"A lot of things. I was scared that when Ryan left everything would go back to the way it was before he came. I thought you'd get tired of being with an emo geek like me. You'd go back to being a Newport socialite, and I would be left out in the cold." His arm unconsciously tightened around her back as he spoke, as if the words themselves were going to make his nightmares come true. "I couldn't go back to the way things were pre-Ryan; no friends except Captain Oats. And video games and comic books as my only company." He paused to gather his thoughts, and Summer sat in stunned silence at both his words and his sincerity. She knew that they had both changed since they had last been together, but it seemed Seth had grown up so much more than her in just a few short months – though still the sarcastic, emo-loving geek she had fallen for, he had gained maturity and confidence (apparently Alex was better at teaching than Anna). Not to mention that he had filled out – Summer supposed it had something to do with all the sailing he had done over the summer.

"After having all of you there was no way I could go back to loving you from afar." Seth continued, his soft tone breaking her out of her own introspection.

She nodded, knowing that what he said was true – she had seen how difficult it had been for him this past year, watching her play happy with another guy, and knew that the only reason he hadn't left again was their pseudo-friendship – having her in his life in some way was better than him not being on her radar at all.

Just as Summer was about to comment on his assumptions, Seth spoke again, still in the soft, serious tone that she was beginning to love. "But more than that, I was afraid things _wouldn't_ change."

Okay, that's confusing, Summer thought. Leaving because he thought things would go back to the way they were is understandable – although completely wrong assumptions, but because he thought things would stay the same? What the?

Her confusion must have shown on her face, for Seth hastily continued, "With Ryan gone and Marissa drowning in vodka and self-pity, it would have been just you and me. The whole summer. I was scared we'd get so involved with one another we'd turn into Ryan and Marissa."

Despite the insult to their respective best friends, Summer smiled, finally understanding where Seth was going with his explanation. "You thought we'd fuse into one of those couples who can't stand to be without one another for five minutes, completing each other's sentences and crap like that."

Regardless of the irony in Summer's statement, Seth had to grin at her perceptiveness. "Pretty much." He kissed the top of her head and traced random patterns on the exposed skin of her hip with one hand, the other playing with her fingers where they rested on his thigh. "I didn't want us to become the Seth-and-Summer version of Ryrissa, alienating those around us with our sickening couple traits and constant need to makeout. And although you probably think we'd never allow that to happen to us-" Summer shook her head in agreement, "-I can't see how we could have spent the entire summer in each other's constant company and _not_ turned out like that. Sure you would have had to pull Marissa out of her drunken haze once in a while, but all our other friends were gone – Anna, Luke, Ryan – and three's a crowd." There was a pause while he tried to think how to finish his monologue. "I'm sorry for leaving," was the final decision, and Summer though it was probably the most heartfelt 'sorry' she'd ever received

Moving her hand from around his waist to cup his cheek, she pulled his face towards him and kissed him, soft and slow. He returned the kiss equally tenderly, letting go of her fingers in favor of caressing her cheek.

After a few minutes of slow making out, she finally deepened the kiss, moving her spare hand to his waist, where she raised his t-shirt slightly and traced delicate fingers over his abdomen. His free hand was doing its own exploration, making itself familiar with the contours of her back again. Things intensified, and Seth was just about to pull back to remove her shirt when she stopped.

"Cohen," Summer pulled out of the kiss, much to Seth's dismay.

"Yeah, Summer?" He sighed, trying not to show too much impatience – he knew that she got annoyed when he didn't want to listen to her, considering how much he himself talked.

"Did you really sleep with Alex?"

At Summer's words all of Seth's impatience disappeared, to be replaced by nervousness and a touch of annoyance. _Now?_ He asked himself, _she wants to do the 'how far did you go' thing now?_ He looked at her and noticed that she looked uncharacteristically shy and unsure of herself. He reached for her, attempting to comfort her without words, but she moved away until they were no longer touching, removing his arm from around her back and placing it in his lap.

"Answer the question, Cohen." Her voice was calm, and he knew that she was trying to reassure him that she wouldn't be mad at the answer, but he also knew that merely asking the question still hurt her. She placed a hand over his, and he stared at the two hands on his knee, unable to look at her face.

"No." He whispered, so softly that she almost missed it. "I didn't sleep with Alex." He repeated, louder. "I couldn't. When she took off her shirt all I could think about was you, and how it didn't feel right because it wasn't with you." He finally tore his eyes away from their entangled hands and looked into her cocoa-colored orbs, extra bright in the morning light from tears despite her smile.

"It was the same with Zach. Every time I kissed him it felt wrong. I made him believe I wanted to…you know," she began, and Seth found it amusing how Summer, who had no problem discussing bodily functions at the lunch table, was shy about saying the word 'sex' in relation to her ex-boyfriend, though he bit down his grin as she continued, "in San Diego, but your voice was stuck in my head." She paused, "I think that's when I realised Zach and I would never work. I mean, I couldn't even muster up a smidgen of disappointment that my boyfriend didn't want to sleep with me – I was relieved I didn't have to explain why I didn't want to."

Seth grabbed her other hand and moved to face her, so both were sitting cross-legged on his bed, knees touching and hands intertwined. They sat in silence for a while, each digesting the information they had just received.

Finally Summer broke the comfortable quiet, "How far did you go?"

"Summer…" Seth gave her a 'we-don't-have-to-do-this-now' look as he drew out her name.

"I want to know, Cohen." She was stubborn and unrelenting – two of the traits Seth loved most about her.

"Third base." He conceded.

"Zach and I only made it halfway to second." She answered his unasked question as she acknowledged his response with a movement of her head. "So then why did you shack at her place? What, did you fall asleep after she gave you head?"

He shrugged, "Would you believe we fell asleep watching TV?" Summer rolled her eyes, "I know it's cliché, but it happened." She opened her mouth again, but Seth placed two fingers on her lips before she got any words out, "I let you believe it because I wanted you to think I was getting over you. You seemed so happy with Zach, I didn't want to seem sad and pitiful – well, more so than I already was."

Reaching up to hold his fingers in place over her lips, Summer ran her tongue along the digits, feeling the shiver that ran through his body as she did so.

Gently, she lifted his hand. Turning it over, she placed a lingering moist kiss in the center of his palm, making him run flush and causing him to catch his breath. His fingers curled to graze her face in response as he felt just the tip of her tongue touch the sensitive skin. She then pressed his palm to her cheek, raising her eyes to meet his gaze.

She could see in his eyes how much he wanted her – and it wasn't only the lust of a guy who has been celibate for too long, it was also his desire for her, and her alone. The hunger in his eyes brought a tingling feeling to her groin, and she knew her eyes were reflecting this. She also knew that no-one else could ever make her feel the way Seth Cohen made her feel with merely a glance.

"I'm glad you didn't get over me." Summer whispered as she moved forward and softly kissed him, touching his face and feeling him respond without hesitation, his lips warm and gentle at first. It felt so good, like an ache finally soothed. She broke the kiss just long enough to look him in the eyes, wanting to see his need.

"Me too." He returned her smile, then kissed it from her lips, sliding his fingers into her hair. His arms moved around her, pulling her against him as he laid back on the bed.

As he pressed into the heat of their embrace, his fingers stroked through the mahogany strands of her hair, pushing it back off her face so he could see her as they kissed. He felt Summer's tongue slide into his open mouth to caress him back. He lightly groaned in pleasure and spoke her name softly in between deep kisses to her mouth and lighter ones to her eyes, her jaw and that sweet spot below her ear where he felt his hot breath cause her to shiver.

Wrenching his mouth away from Summer's skin, Seth stretched his body out along side hers, propping his head up on one elbow so he could use his other hand to touch her. Her heart was pounding as she watched him gently pull her shirt – originally his actually, but she had claimed ownership of it – up enough to gain access to the soft skin of her stomach. After a quick glance into her eyes, he began gently stroking the taut flesh, his awe at her perfection palpable.

She turned her head away from him to the side, closing her eyes as the brilliance of his touch assuaged her senses. Zach had never made her feel like this from a simple touch – from anything, actually. "I missed you so much, Cohen." Her voice was a mere whisper, her normal volume stolen by the feelings he was arousing in her.

"I'll never leave you again," he replied at the same volume, shivering with desire as his hands lowered her shorts further down around her hips. He pushed the fabric slowly down until the curve of her hip was exposed. Splaying his fingers along it, he used his thumb to gently caress her tanned skin. Summer felt her nipples harden in reaction to this new technique. Seth's heart leapt as he saw her body's reaction to his touch. Her nipples were protruding teasingly through the thin material of her t-shirt, thrusting invitingly upwards to where his mouth hovered.

He continued caressing her, moving slowly up over her ribcage, just inches below the edge of the navy blue fabric. He traced a slow steady line down the middle of her abdomen, around her belly button, stopping when he reached the band of her shorts. It was too much for Summer, and she sighed longingly. As her exhalation washed over his face, Seth could no longer stand the distance between them, miniscule though it was, and moved his head up to kiss her again.

Summer grabbed the back of his head and threaded her fingers through his curls. She _had_ missed this. Having gone sixteen years without sex, when she and Seth discovered that the feelings aroused during the act couldn't be replicated in anything else, they couldn't get enough of one another, and the past eight months had been torture for both of them. Summer felt she had gotten the raw end of the deal, for not only had Zach been unwilling to do…_other_ things besides the actual act, but Seth was well experienced in waiting. She and Seth had only just rounded first base and Summer was already well on the way to exploding. Their tongues duelled as Seth's hand continued roaming, never actually disappearing beneath her clothing.

Finally Seth broke the kiss, taking a gulp of air before he returned his mouth to her body, this time kissing her exposed stomach. Summer could not longer take the teasing, and pulled her shirt off herself, reaching down to do the same thing to Seth.

As his head cleared the fabric of his shirt, Seth dropped his head to her chest, causing Summer to moan in appreciation at what he was doing with his lips and tongue. The first couple of times they had had sex, Summer hadn't been all that concerned about foreplay, too worked up over his kisses and his body against hers to require any further 'preparation', as Seth would call it. But as they got better at it she realised that foreplay only increased the pleasure and that it allowed for satisfaction when there wasn't time enough for completion. They enjoyed getting one another all worked up only to hold off culmination – especially since they were teenagers with limited time alone.

Thankfully they had plenty of time this morning – it was only 6am on a Sunday morning, as Summer discovered when she checked the clock on the bedside table – so could spend that time getting to know one another again – not that they had forgotten what it was like to be together, despite Summer's best attempts. Slowly clothes came off, accompanied by kisses and caresses to pretty much every part of their bodies, until they were both naked. Summer was currently occupying Seth's entire consciousness, with her mouth and hands fastened to different ends of his body. Their tongues danced languidly, moving in the same rhythm as Summer's hand moved along his length.

Breaking the kiss and removing her hand at the same time, Summer rolled them over so that she was staring up into Seth's brown depths. He kissed her again as his left hand fumbled around in his bedside table, knocking Captain Oats off the top as he did so.

Hearing the thump of the Captain hitting the floor, Summer pulled her lips away from Seth's, and placed a hand on his arm, stilling its movements.

"I don't think Captain Oats is old enough to see what's about to happen here." She said, eyes and lips both grinning impishly at him.

Seth nodded seriously, "You're right. Wouldn't want to scar him for life." The horse was retrieved from the floor and placed in the drawer Seth had been rummaging around in. He kept it open though, now searching with his eyes for the item he hadn't been able to find while searching blindly.

"Cohen." Summer stated, gripping his arm tighter. He turned to look at her, eyes questioning. "I still want to do this, don't worry," the question in his eyes changed as his shoulders relaxed, "I'm on the pill."

Seth didn't understand what she was saying, and continued looking at her in confusion.

Summer rolled her eyes at his naivety, "We don't need a condom. I trust you, and I'm taking a pill everyday that will stop me getting pregnant." Her tone was as if she was speaking to a five-year-old, but the simplistic approach worked, because the bewilderment in Seth's eyes disappeared.

"When did you-" Seth's words were cut off as Summer moved her hips against his, signalling that this was not the time to be talking.

Shutting the drawer, Seth moved back over her, feeling rather than seeing her spread her legs underneath him. He kissed her once on the lips and once on the forehead before sliding into her.

They both exhaled loudly as they connected, the word fading around them until it was just the two of them, Seth and Summer. She knew that nothing felt like this, the completeness she felt was unlike anything she had ever felt before, and she wondered why it had taken her this long to figure it out. He watched the emotions play across her face, wondering how he could ever have even considered doing this with another girl. For him there was no other girl, only the one lying beneath him, staring up at him with lust, love and tears of happiness in her chocolate eyes.

Summer moved her head up to kiss him, and he began moving. At first he was careful to keep his weight off her in fear of crushing her frame – much smaller than he remembered – but soon she knocked his arms out from under him and he collapsed on top of her. She locked her arms and legs around him simultaneously, preventing him from pulling away. He slid his arms under her, cradling her in his arms, pressing their chests together as they moved simultaneously.

His lips continued moving over her skin, so there was barely a second when she didn't feel his kiss on her cheek, her breast, her lips. Her hands roamed his back, moving down to squeeze his butt – causing him to jump slightly – and tracing a path back upward to hold onto his shoulders.

As Seth felt himself nearing release, he removed one arm from under her body, snaking it down between them until his touch caused her to cry out. She kissed him quickly to stifle her screams, whispering "don't stop," against his lips.

So he didn't stop, continuing to move his fingers across her as his lips traced a similar path across her chest.

"Omigod…Cohen…nearly…there…" Summer's words were disjointed and breathless as she neared the edge, taking his face in her hands and kissing him desperately to silence her pleasure.

And then she was there, releasing it, her breath catching, gasping for breath, her back arching and her muscles clenching and undulating around him, her legs holding him tightly as her blood pounded in her ears and in her toes and everywhere in between. "Seth!" She screamed, unable to contain herself. She groaned and he held himself still and rigid as she sank down into the bed with her arms and legs still encircling him, her mouth pressed against his neck while the contractions slowed and finally stopped.

"Seth," she whispered breathlessly, her voice laden with emotion.

Seth moved once more and felt his control slip away. Summer watched with blurred vision as his orgasm shuddered through his body, starting at the place their bodies met and rippling outwards. He had to close his eyes and turn his head with the intensity of it. His hand dug into her hip as though he could pull her inside himself and he had a beautiful sheen on his skin from sweat. He collapsed on top of her, burying his mouth in her hair to muffle his cries of pleasure.

Clutching his sweaty body to hers, Summer ran her fingers up and down the back of his neck, twirling the curls in between her fingers. Recovering, Seth pulled out of her and flopped onto the bed beside her, touching the small of her back. She was alive and warm underneath his fingers.

"Summer?" he asked gently.

"Cohen, if you're going to ask me if it was good for me, I'm going to punch you," she muttered into his arm, and he laughed in relief before pressing a soft kiss against the nape of her neck. She rolled toward him from sheer force of will, and looked at him fuzzily. "That was amazing."

She kissed him tenderly and laid her head on his shoulder, draping an arm across his chest as his curled around her back. "I adore you, Cohen." She murmured, drowsily burrowing her face into his damp skin. She received no reply, the heavy rise and fall of his chest indicating Seth was already asleep.

* * *

Seth woke an hour later, and it was all he could do not to cry out when he discovered Summer still draped over his chest; it hadn't been a strange and beautiful – and oh so _hot_ – dream. He gazed down at her, trying to not move too much for fear of waking her. Her chestnut hair was fanned out over his torso, creating a dark halo that reminded Seth of an angel. _How did I get so lucky?_ He asked himself, _how the hell did I ever get her to date me, let alone take me back after I abandoned her?_

Unable to stand another second without touching her to ensure that she was real, Seth ran his fingers lightly down the arm that laid claim to his body, watching in fascination as Summer's body unconsciously responded to his touch, the hairs on her arm standing on end and goosebumps trailing in the wake of his fingertips.

She stirred, and Seth momentarily lifted his fingers from his body, fearing retribution, before he remembered that they were back together, and thus touched her again, this time on the back.

He moved his arm to continue stroking her back as she lifted her head and rolled off him, "Hi."

"Hey," she replied, and grinned a big, slow smile as she remembered the events of that morning. Pulling the sheet up to cover her chest, Summer sat up and reclined against the headboard. Seth followed her, allowing his side of the sheet to pool around his waist. She threaded her left arm under his right, placing her hand on his right shoulder as their right hands intertwined on her thigh. They stayed quiet, allowing the silence to permeate the room as they contemplated the amplification of their intimacy this time around.

"You know, if you'd come back during the summer, there were times when I would have forgiven you immediately." Summer's voice was strangely loud in the stillness, though Seth knew in reality she was speaking below her normal speaking volume. "Of course you would have had to apologise and grovel, but I would have told him to get lost." A testament to their increased closeness was that neither needed to ask who 'he' was – both knew that Zach's name spoke aloud would only bring up bad memories.

"What do you mean, 'there were times'?" he asked, frustrated that she wanted to bring up this issue yet again.

"My birthday. Coop and I spent the whole day at home coz I was convinced you were gonna come back that day. I didn't even go out for dinner with my dad, which is something we do _every _year." Her left hand, which had been gently tickling his stomach until now, stilled, as her voice grew louder and more indignant. "And our six month anniversary. Your mom came and gave me your present – which I love, by the way." She fingered the simple 'S' that hung from a thin silver chain – it was the only thing she was wearing. "I never take it off." Her voice was still angry, as if she was blaming him for choosing a present he knew she wouldn't reject. She looked down at the pendant nestled in between her cotton-covered breasts.

"I knew you'd like it the moment I saw it." He commented, reaching up to trace the letter with one hand. "And you got the earring I sent for your birthday." It was more of a statement than a question, for he had seen her wearing them more than once.

"The only present I wanted was for you to come home." Her voice was softer now, and her fingers had resumed moving across his abdomen as she relived The Summer Without Seth. It was such a significant time in her life that it was capitalised in her memory. "Your grandfather's birthday."

The statement was so out of context that Seth almost ignored it as the random ramblings of a sated woman. "What?"

"That was the other time I was expecting you to come back." She didn't spell out why, knowing that Seth probably remembered every single kiss they had shared.

Slowly a smile spread across his face as he twigged to the importance of the date, "Our first kiss."

She nodded, "The one year anniversary of our first kiss. When the clock passed midnight that night I realised that I was done waiting for you. That night was the first night I didn't cry myself to sleep." Admitting she had cried over him wasn't as hard as she had anticipated. His eyes crinkled at the corners at the news, but she saw no evidence of the tears she knew he wanted to cry – knowing he had hurt her that much wounded him more than any physical pain every could.

"I didn't think you wanted me to come back." His fingers tightened around hers where they rested on her left thigh. "You were so angry on the Fourth of July. And you told me not to call again. You didn't answer my calls on any of those days you just told me about." He shrugged, dislodging her head from his shoulder.

Summer grinned despite the serious conversation – here they were sitting side-by-side on his bed, naked, discussing the hurt that had kept them apart for the larger part of their junior year, and the situation was no more awkward than if they had been sitting fully dressed on either side of a table in a restaurant. "I know. I didn't want to hear your apologies and your excuses anymore. I just wanted you to come back to Newport, back to me."

"I thought you hated me. What reason did I have to come back if Ryan was still gone and you weren't going to speak to me? And no, my parents don't count." She had no answer, so merely pulled him closer, breathing in his unique Seth-smell and thanking Jesus and Moses that she was back in his arms again.

"I'm sorry for making you feel like you had nothing to come back to." Her voice was low, melancholy. "I was angry with you for leaving, but I still wanted you to come back." They fell silent again, now musing over what could have been.

Just as Seth was opening his mouth again – no doubt to apologise once again – the bedroom door opened and Ryan walked in – either he hadn't knocked or they had been too absorbed in fantasies to hear the sound. Being that the interrupter was Ryan, it was most likely the second option, his domain of the poolhouse having fallen prey to unexpected visitors one too many times for him to walk into any room unannounced.

Seeing their undressed states would have usually sent Ryan into a fit of apologising, but he merely took one look at Seth and Summer clad in nothing but sheets and one at the clothes scattered across the room, turned on his heel and walked out of the room, carefully shutting the door behind him. Summer and Seth shared a concerned look at Ryan's odd behaviour and simultaneously scrambled to get out of bed. So used to the sight of one another's bodies were they that both dressed in relative ease, though Seth did immensely enjoy watching Summer scamper topless around his room searching for her bra.

Seth was all for going straight downstairs to 'face the folks', but Summer refused to be seen until "I look at least a little presentable, Cohen!"

She disappeared into his ensuite, leaving Seth to stare at the wall. He wandered over to his dresser and looked at the pictures that sat atop it. Until last year the dresser had contained only photos of his family, but now it was crowded with pictures of himself with Ryan, Summer, Marissa, Anna, Luke – even one with the six of them and Oliver – though he noted sadly that in that particular picture his arm was around Anna and Summer's eyes did not reflect the giant smile that graced her lips. He picked one up of Summer and Marissa taken eight months earlier at in Marissa's freshly decorated room. He stared at it for several seconds and smiled to himself as he ran his finger over Summer's smiling face.

"What are you looking at?" a voice asked.

Seth was startled. He looked up, surprised to see a smiling Summer standing only a few feet away, face freshly scrubbed and – he was surprised to see – still make-up free, apart from lipgloss. She walked over to him and looked at the picture he was holding. "Ugh, I look terrible in that picture."

He placed it back on the dresser and rolled his eyes. "You say that about every picture of yourself, but I have yet to see one bad photograph of you."

She smiled and nudged him in the ribs. "Flattery will get you nowhere."

He smirked. "Oh no? Well, then you look like crap in every picture I've ever seen of you."

"Very sweet, Cohen." She laughed, "Thank you for that."

Seth smiled and kissed her on the cheek. He walked over to his desk and sat down on the desk chair, and Summer followed him and sat on his lap. "Uh, there are like ten other places to sit in this room," Seth pointed out.

"Yeah, but this is comfy," she replied.

"For you," he muttered, repositioning his body to get more comfortable.

"Fine, I'll just go sit way over there on the bed," Summer said, starting to get up but Seth put his hands on her waist and pulled her back down onto his lap. Summer smiled and leaned back against him, "Ha, see, you like it. Quit whining."

"Seth, you up?" Sandy's voice floated through the still-closed door, accompanied by a knock. "Is Summer still here?"

"Wow, father, have you finally learned the virtues of privacy?" Seth replied, not moving.

Summer elbowed him in the stomach, "It's ok, you can come in, Mr C."

The door opened and Sandy's face appeared at the side, followed by the rest of his body as he pushed it open all the way and entered the room. He smiled when he saw the two of them cuddled in the chair – he had been rooting for the two of them to get back together as much as their best friends had.

"I'm glad to see that the two of you have _finally _worked things out." His smile turned grim, and both teenagers knew exactly what was about to be addressed, "But this sleepover thing is not going to happen again. The same rules apply as last year – curfews are to be adhered to even when you're at home."

Seth and Summer both nodded, thankful they hadn't been punished for their blatant disregard for the rules, and that Sandy didn't seem to want to mention Summer's climactic scream any more than they wanted it mentioned.

"So either come down for breakfast soon or clean this place up, otherwise your mother will find out, and if she does…" the threat went unfinished but neither Seth nor Summer had to ask for clarification. Ever since finding Marissa on top of Ryan in the poolhouse Kirsten had been firm and unyielding about her policy on 'sex and the house' – though apparently she believed all extracurricular activities happened after dark, because her policy was more of a 'no sleepovers' one than one of 'no sex in the house at any time'. That meant that all boys and girls had to be in separate rooms by curfew – if the girls wanted to stay over they slept in the guestroom.

"We'll be down in a minute." Seth assured his father, who nodded in acknowledgment before turning and exiting the room, leaving the door open as if to remind them of their promise.

Summer hopped off Seth's lap and turned to help him to his feet. Taking her offered hands, Seth pulled her back astride his legs, and placed a hand on the back of her head to guide her lips to his.

She giggled against his lips, swatting at his hands as they pulled at the hem of her shirt. "Cohen!" She finally wrenched her lips away from his and smacked him on the chest. "We promised your dad we'd go downstairs, like now."

He leaned in again and she pushed him away, forgetting that she was sitting on his lap. This caused her to fall backwards as Seth's back hit the back of his desk chair and ceased all movement. If not for Seth grabbing her hand – albeit he was attempting to catch her outright – she would have cracked her head on the floor. As it was she tumbled out of Seth's lap and landed on her butt on the floor with a thump, legs still on the chair.

"Ow! Cohen!" Summer pulled her legs down and slapped away the hand that Seth extended in assistance.

"You pushed me!" He retorted, arms signing his words.

"Whatev." She jumped up and stalked out of the room, not looked back even as she heard Seth scramble out of his chair to follow her.

* * *

Three hours later Seth and Summer exited the poolhouse, having spent the past hour trying to get the story of Lindsay's departure out of Ryan, who was not exactly in a talkative mood.

"Well that was like getting blood from a big blonde block of granite." Seth commented as they entered the kitchen.

"Couldn't just say 'stone' like a normal person, could you Cohen?" Summer countered, leaning on the counter as Seth retrieved two sodas from the fridge. "He's hurting, give him a break. His girlfriend just moved to the other side of the country for, like, ever. It's probably gonna take some time before he's ok with it."

"Yeah. We should probably just leave him to his brooding for a while." Seth grabbed her hand and led her to the couch, placing the sodas on the coffee table before flopping down on the couch.

Settling down on the couch next to him, leaning against him, Summer wrapped Seth's arm around her and rested her head on his shoulder. "We should," she echoed.

"You fit just right," he murmured into her hair.

"What?"

"I like the way your head fits just right into my shoulder. Like that's where it was always supposed to be." He stroked her hair, twirling the sienna strands around his fingertips.

"Well, if my head were always on your shoulder, it might make life difficult. Think about trying to go to school like that." She grinned and tapped two fingers on his thigh.

He sighed audibly. "Gee, Summer, you sure know how to make the most of a moment." But it was all he could do to hide the smile that threatened to creep across his lips.

"You know you like it," she replied, snuggling a little closer.

"Maybe," he admitted. Seth flipped the TV on and turned it to MTV; The _Sherman Oaks: The Real Valley_ marathon that Seth had been planning to watch last night was still on. They sat together watching and not talking for a while. Summer's fingers tangled through the hair at the nape of Seth's neck while his fingers methodically massaged her scalp, something that she had always said was incredibly relaxing.

"This is so weird." Summer's voice startled him out of his stupor.

"What?" He asked, turning his attention away from the TV and concentrating solely on his girlfriend; _omigod I cannot believe she's finally my girlfriend again_.

"You don't think it's weird?" Summer asked him as her hand trailed lightly up his chest.

"Hmm…tell me what 'it' is and I let you know how I feel about 'it'." He replied, grasping her fingers in an attempt to retain his self-control.

"You know." Seth raised his eyebrows at her, in an attempt to explain that no, he did not know. She smiled and kissed him lightly before continuing, "This. Being here like this. Back together. It's a lot like yesterday. Only entirely different. And it's just…weird. Yesterday we were just friends, albeit with a history. But still…and now, here we are."

"Back together, you mean?"

"Yeah." Her foot was rubbing up and down his calf and, despite the fact that he didn't think she was doing it consciously, the attention was chipping away at his willpower.

"We were never really _friends_ though." Seth remarked, "coz even when we were acting like friends there was something else there." His retaliation for her leg action was to trace circles on her bare thigh, smirking when she tried to squirm away from him.

Summer looked up into his eyes and traced a finger over his lips, "True." He pulled her fingers away from his mouth and pulled her head towards him, kissing her sweetly.

She wrapped her arms around him and fell backwards, allowing Seth's warm body cover hers as she deepened the kiss. "Mmmmm," she murmured, licking her lips as she pulled away. "Wanna go upstairs?" Her voice was husky and her fingers traced patterns on his back underneath his t-shirt.

Seth hesitated – his parents were currently out, but who knew when they would come back? – but all thoughts of other people instantly dissolved as Summer's nimble fingers dipped below his waistband and traced along his hipbone. He watched her eyes darken with lust as she felt his reaction to her sweet torture. Without a word he leapt off the couch and raced for the stairs, only to turn back after three steps and offer his hand. When Summer took it, she observed his eyes light up briefly before he was pulling her along with him.

By the time they reached Seth's room it was Summer who was leading him by the hand, and as soon as he shut the door behind them she turned and pressed him up against it, kissing him passionately. He kissed her back just as fervently, running his hands up her back, pulling her shirt up as he went. They pulled back just enough to pull their shirts over their heads, dropping both to the floor as their mouths fused once again.

She fumbled with his jeans; thankful he had forgone a belt that morning, something he almost never did. As much as this morning had been a celebration of their love, they both knew that this time would be different – this was the release of all the sexual tension they had been denying since the start of the school year. At last extracting the button, she quickly undid his jeans and pulled her body away from his to allow the pants to fall to the floor.

Seth was having similar trouble with her shorts, finally dropping his hands to cup her butt. "I can't do it." He whined, nuzzling into her shoulder.

Rolling her eyes, Summer unknotted the drawstring and rid herself of her shorts, then moved her hands to her back to help Seth unclasp her bra. As they let the clothes drop to the floor, Seth spun her around and pinned her to the door. She giggled and wrapped her legs and arms around him, latching her mouth to his.

He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers, staring into her eyes. "Summer," He began, and the earnestness in his tone made her cease her attempts to continue the lustful foreplay. "Je t'aime."

Though she giggled at his cheesiness, their eyes were both dead serious – the words meant no less said in another language, it was just less scary that way. "Je t'aime." She replied, kissing him with more passion than ever before.

Breaking away for lack of air, Seth pulled her away from the door and led her further into the room. He left her standing by his bed while he went to his stereo and pressed 'play'. Soft music emanated from it as he walked back to her side. Summer wrinkled her nose and moved past him to change the CD to something faster. He looked at her in amusement and she grinned at him as she shrugged, "It has to match the mood."

He strode over to her and wrapped his arms around her back, kissing her hard.

"Didn't we already do this today?" she teased, but fell into his kiss because she knew that it was much easier to make out when you actually wanted to be with the other person.

"I could stop if you want me to, Jay." Seth said, even though the words were hard to get out because he was now reduced to quick shallow breaths by how hot Summer's kiss had made him.

"You do and I'll kick your ass." Her threat was a low, sultry whisper because she was busy making him crazy.

THE END

You guys asked for a second part, so here it is (all 7500 words of it) – hope you liked my first ever sex scene. Regardless whether you liked it or loathed it, leave a review and tell me what you liked/how I can improve the things you loathed.

I don't really know all that much about the base-thing coz we don't use it in Australia, so forgive me if I got it wrong. Also I know that Summer didn't wear an 'S' necklace the whole season, but whatever.

I'm having some trouble with the next part of _Seceding Link_ – does anyone have any ideas for while Seth & Summer are apart?


End file.
